Sean Walsh
On the bulletin board outside the Boston College High School guidance counselor’s office hung a note that read: “Help-Wanted: Mailroom/Messenger”. In my junior year, I began my career in financial markets, working after school in the mailroom at Shearson Lehman Brothers in Boston. Prior to the internet and email, a mailroom with a large brokerage operation was a hub of activity. As I navigated throughout the city to banks and financial institutions, carrying physical stock and bond certificates, I knew I wanted to be part of this world.
When I graduated, I joined the operations group of Shearson Lehman Brothers and moved from brokerage cashiering and new accounts into the order room, where stock trades arrived on paper tickets and carbon copies littered the floor. I learned about stocks, bonds, options and commodities, and about the rewards of working hard and trying to excel. The order room was where I witnessed the unforgettable stock market crash of 1987.
Shortly thereafter, I moved to the Lehman Brothers Institutional Fixed Income sales desk in Boston and was mentored by some of the finest people I have ever known. I expanded my knowledge across a wide range of fixed income products including money market instruments, government bonds, mortgage-backed securities, as well as corporate and municipal bonds. I learned how to interact with institutional customers from mutual fund companies, insurance companies, and various other asset management firms. Encouraged by the opportunities in this field I attended Boston College's evening school and earned a B. S. In business administration.
In 1993, I joined Fidelity's Advisor Resource Group, a new business started to support the growing segment of fee-based, Registered Investment Advisors. As the dedicated fixed income sales trader, I was charged with building the fixed income product offering and service model. At the same time I began work to earn my master’s degree in Financial Planning from Bentley University.
This business grew exponentially, and I recruited and developed a team of 20 fixed income specialists, strategized with our sales force to bring new advisory firms to Fidelity, and collaborated across the organization to expand our fixed income offering using the latest trading tools and technologies. Over those years I learned the value of trusted relationships, the importance of providing superior customer service, and how to work as part of a team through many challenges.
In 2021, I accepted an early retirement from Fidelity as a Senior Vice President. Over the course of my career at these two organizations, I had the good fortune to work with many amazing and talented colleagues and customers, including Stan and Hildy Richelson of the Scarsdale Investment Group, Ltd.